The Minnesota Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care (OOLTC), part of the Minnesota Board on Aging, investigates and helps resolve complaints for residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities (including memory care), and board-and-lodging settings statewide, and advocates for residents' rights. Reach OOLTC at 1-800-657-3591 or 651-431-2555.
How this actually works
Unlike some larger states that split ombudsman coverage across several regional offices, Minnesota runs OOLTC as a single statewide office, so a family in Minneapolis and a family in Stillwater call the exact same number and reach the same organization. Because ombudsman advocacy is resident-directed, the ombudsman generally needs the resident's own consent, or their legal representative's consent if the resident lacks capacity, before formally acting on a complaint on their behalf — it's not a regulatory enforcement agency in the way MDH is, but an independent advocate working specifically for the resident. Phone lines are staffed 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Monday–Friday, per OOLTC's published contact page.
Related questions
- How is the ombudsman different from filing a complaint with MDH?
- Can the ombudsman help with a discharge or eviction dispute at an assisted living facility?
- Who can advocate for a resident who has no family nearby in the Twin Cities?
- Does a resident need a lawyer to file an ombudsman complaint in Minnesota?